6 Little Words Helped Make George H.W. Bush (A 1-Term) President
"Read my lips" succeeded at countering Bush's image problem. But if it improved his chances of being elected in 1988, it may have ruined his chances of being re-elected in 1992.
Rarely have six words meant so much, and so many different things, to so many.
They rang out in the Superdome in New Orleans in August 1988 as the vice president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, accepted the Republican nomination for president:
"Read my lips: no new taxes."
And the crowd, as they say, went wild. A roar had been building, even in that vast and airy stadium, as Bush built up to his payoff line:
"My opponent won't rule out raising taxes. But I will. And the Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no. And they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again, and
